Difficult to get job in Australia from the US

Curious if anyone knows how difficult it would be to get a planning job in AUS from the US. My husband and I are both interested in relocating (and we're both planners). I know there are big recruiters for the area, but most seem focused on placing UK planners.

I found that during economic downturns, Commonwealth countries circle the wagons, and will look at applicants from the United States much less favorably than those from other countries that put the Queen on their money. It seems like even Canadian employers will consider a planner from the UK over one from the US now. During my last period of unemployment, when I was living in Buffalo, my applications to jobs in southern Ontario, even those just a few miles ... I mean kilometers over the border, seemed to land in the circular file. If my name were only Ian, Nigel or Simon ...

The Australian and Canadian systems are much closer to the US system than the UK system, so it seems like a planner from the UK would have to undergo far more retraining in their new position than one from the States.

Occasionally ads from planning agencies in New Zealand still make their way into US publications, so not all hope is lost. Not Australia, but about as close as you can get.

Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey

I think you'll find the different states have different planning regimes. Certainly over here in Western Australia we see a lot of UK planners and South African Planners (but there are a lot of South Africans who choose to live in WA so not just limited to planners). The WA system was heavily influenced by the Canadian and UK systems, but that said, you move from one organisation (you'll have to learn to drop the z's) to another will always take some retraining so I don't think that anyone would have any problem with planners from other systems. Might be good for us to get some fresh insights too. Certainly seems to pay better here than US.

Ahhh, I love indeed.com. Greatest invention ever. Thanks for the tips! We'll see how it goes. I've contacted Hays Recruiting - looks like they have a focused market in planning.

And you're right, the pay is quite a bit better, but does that mean cost of living is higher too? Doesn't really matter - would be an amazing experience. Seems like there is quite a bit going on there, and would provide a lot of good depth professionally. Plus, it is a beautiful place

[Sorry if this is hijacking the thread a little but the question is similar enough that it didn't seem worth starting a new one.]

Can any Australians comment on how Canadian planning degrees are viewed? (Or NZers on New Zealand.)

From this thread it sounds as though the affinity for Canadian planners is definitely greater than for those from the US (mention of WA's roots from UK + Canada, etc.) but how exactly would a Canadian degree compare to an Australian degree, a degree from the UK, or elsewhere?

(This question is coming from a potential Canadian MUP student interested in SE Asia but also keeping an eye on Oceania.)

No, you have to have a visa first. Not a difficult process, but expensive. We've noticed that, while there is a need for planners and they are looking outside Australia, there are few municipalities or companies willing to do an employer-sponsored work visa.